China commits USD 1 million grant

TIRANA, Jan. 28 – The Chinese government has committed to support Albania through a 10 million juan (more than USD 1 million) grant supporting development projects in Albania. The deal on economic and technical cooperation was signed by Albanian Economy Minister Arben Ahmetaj and Chinese Ambassador to Tirana Ye Hao.
Ahmetaj said some 83 Chinese companies have already registered with Albania’s National Registration Centre.
“We strongly believe that energy, transport and infrastructure and cooperation sectors with a huge potential,” said Ahmetaj appreciating the Chinese support to funding in key economy sectors and technical assistance in human resources.
Last September, the central banks of Albania and China have signed a bilateral currency swap deal worth 2 billion yuan (USD 324.8 million). The swap transaction provides a channel by which the central banks can have access to the local currency of the other party. It aims to promote bilateral trade and direct investments for economic development of the two countries in local currency terms, and to support domestic financial stability of both countries, if market conditions require such liquidity.
Albania-China business community is now represented by a Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
China is one of Albania’s top trade partners with trade exchanges on a constant upward trend.
Albania’s trade exchanges with China registered a considerable increase, ranking China the third most important trade partner after Italy and Greece. INSTAT data show Albania’s exports double to 11.5 billion lek (Euro 80 million) while imports slightly grew to 35 billion lek (Euro 244 million).